Texas Tech vs Houston Predictions, Picks, and Odds: Cougars Keep Clamping Down

After the Houston Cougars crushed TCU in the Big 12 Conference Tournament bracket, the No. 1 seed in the country is seeking a spot in the tournament final and will take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Texas Tech, tabbed as 8.5-point underdogs in the conference tournament odds, took care of BYU to book its spot into the tournament’s Final Four. Can the Cougars, who won the regular-season conference crown, complete the Big 12 double?

Read below for my Texas Tech vs. Houston preview, complete with free college basketball picks.

Texas Tech vs Houston best odds

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Texas Tech vs Houston picks and predictions

It’s not often a team can shoot less than 40% from the field, less than 35% from 3-point range, and lose the rebounding battle by 16, and get clubbed on the offensive glass 30-9 (yes, 30-9!) and still win by double digits.

Yet that’s just what happened Thursday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, as the Houston Cougars locked up TCU in a 60-45 domination. The Cougars raced out to a 31-15 halftime lead and never looked back, leaning on the NCAA’s top scoring and field-goal-shooting defense to carry them home.

It did just that: Houston held TCU — a Top-40 scoring team in the country and third in the Big 12 at 80.3 points per game — to its lowest output of the season. The Cougars limited the Horned Frogs to an absurd 17-for-73 shooting performance, a 23.3% clip, which included a 10% mark on 2-for-20 shooting from downtown, to book their ticket to the Big 12 semifinals.

Already locked in as a top seed in the March Madness odds, they’ll try to extend their 10-game win streak as they take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Like Houston, the Red Raiders used a scorching first half, outscoring BYU 42-23, then held off the Cougars in an 81-67 win.

Texas Tech shot a stellar 49.1% for the game, and outgunned BYU — second in the nation in 3-point makes per game — from distance, drilling nine of 19 attempts. Defensively, the Red Raiders limited the Cougars to a rough 7-for-35 shooting night from beyond the arc, the 20% rate being a big part of the reason BYU shot just 37.3% for the game.

Texas Tech will now focus its attention on the premier Cougars in the Big 12, a rematch of their lone regular-season meeting Houston dominated in a 77-54 win.

While the Red Raiders were able to hit a respectable 11-for-27 from 3-point range (40.7%), Houston limited them to just 36.7% shooting overall, converted 14 turnovers into 17 points, and pounded Tech inside, outscoring them 40-8 in the paint.

Any questions about Houston’s interest in this tournament ahead of the Big Dance were answered, and their defense should show up again. TTU’s ability to shoot the 3-ball, though, makes it hard to give them all those points, so let’s lean on the total. 

Both schools have come Under their scoring line in four straight and five of the last six. This has the potential of turning T-Mobile into a grindhouse.

My best bet: Under 131.5 (-105 at DraftKings)

Texas Tech vs Houston same-game parlay

Under 131.5

Pop Isaacs Under 16.5 points

Jamal Shead Over 6.5 assists

+600 at DraftKings

Pop Isaacs is coming off a nice 22-point effort over BYU Thursday, marking the third straight game the sophomore guard has crossed the 16.5-point scoring line the books have set for him Friday, and the fifth time in seven games.

Houston is a different beast and showed it when it sunk its teeth into Emanuel Miller on Thursday. After he dominated Oklahoma with 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting, Houston held the conference’s fourth-leading scorer to three points on 1-for-10 shooting.

Isaacs is fifth in the Big 12 in scoring but was also blanketed in his one matchup with the Cougars, scoring 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting. I’m siding with the defense tonight. 

Jamal Shead is 16th in the nation in assists, doling out 6.2 per contest, and before Houston’s win over TCU where he dropped five dimes, he had topped 6.5 assists (his line for Friday) in four of his previous five.

He also kept his teammates well-fed in that January win, dishing out 10 dimes, one of four times he’s gone for double-digit helpers in a game this season. Look for Shead to do the same in KC.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Texas Tech vs Houston spread and Over/Under analysis

The line did open at 7.5 points but has lived in the 8-8.5-point range since. Both teams are hovering around .500 when it comes to betting against the spread. The Red Raiders are 15-16-1 ATS while the Cougars at 15-15-2.

The total has gone as high as 132.5, but that’s where the ceiling likely hits until tip-off. With their blanket job on TCU, Houston has now gone Under in 19 of 32 games on the year. Texas Tech has seen the Over go 18-14 in its games this season.

Texas Tech vs Houston betting trend to know

The Red Raiders have covered the spread in each of their last four games. Find more college basketball betting trends for Texas Tech vs. Houston.

Texas Tech vs Houston game info

Texas Tech vs Houston key injuries

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